Opinion: Harris claims she's for the middle class. Where's she been for the past 4 years?

If Democrats are the party of the working class, they sure have a weird way of showing it.

On Wednesday, while speaking at the Economic Club of Pittsburgh, Vice President Kamala Harris made a pitch to the middle class. Her speech comes as consumer confidence has plunged to the lowest level since August 2021, thanks to a slowing job market and higher costs for food, housing and other essentials.

If this election comes down to any one issue, it won't be abortion or immigration. It will be the economy.

Yet, Harris' economic proposals are more about pandering than solutions. Her plan, for example, to hand out $25,000 to first-time homebuyers is meant to attract younger voters. But how much would that giveaway add to the already soaring budget deficit? How would it affect inflation? What would it mean to the affordability of housing in the long term? Harris' guesses are as good as mine.

What Harris wants voters to forget

During her speech, Harris criticized former President Donald Trump's personal wealth and portrayed herself as an advocate for the middle class.

“For Donald Trump, our economy works best if it works for those who own the big skyscrapers. Not those who actually build them. Not those who wire them. Not those who mop the floors,” Harris said.

The Democratic presidential nominee also pushed a plan to boost manufacturing while ripping on Trump's economic record: "All told, almost 200,000 manufacturing jobs were lost during his presidency, starting before the pandemic hit, making Trump one of the biggest losers ever on manufacturing."

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Harris, of course, wants voters to forget more recent history ? when inflation hit a 40-year high with Joe Biden in the White House. She also wants to ignore polls that show voters trust Trump's handling of the economy more than her own.

The vice president's speech pulls from her new 81-page policy book, "A New Way Forward for the Middle Class." In Pittsburgh, she said her plan would lower costs and help America become a global leader in "industries of the future." Harris promised "commonsense solutions to help Americans buy a home, start a business and build wealth."

But if her manufacturing plan is simple common sense, then why hasn't the Biden-Harris administration been following it for the past four years?

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Harris' economic plans won't have 'positive impact'

I'm not the only one who thinks Harris' economic plans stink.

"We did not find a positive impact on the economy from her plan in any future year. The Trump plan does increase GDP for a few years but lowers by the end of the 10-year budget window," a spokesperson for the University of Pennsylvania's Penn Wharton Budget Model told Newsweek.

The U.S. economy is a mixed bag at the moment. Stocks have recently hit record highs and unemployment remains low (but rising).

Yet tens of millions of Americans say they're struggling more often to pay bills now than in years past. One big reason why so many are feeling so much economic pain is because grocery prices have risen almost 26% since Election Day 2020.

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The vice president has had four years to address soaring food prices and skyrocketing rent costs. She hasn't done it.

Harris' economic plans sound like fixing a flat to plug holes in an economy that desperately needs major repairs and a full tank of gas.

Trump's economy wasn't perfect, but it worked better for many Americans ? and voters know it.

Even those in the middle class.

Nicole Russell is an opinion columnist with USA TODAY. She lives in Texas with her four kids. Sign up for her newsletter, The Right Track, and get it delivered to your inbox.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Opinion: Short on specifics, Harris' economic plan panders to voters